Cost of raising a child $308,000!

London, February 23, 2010

The cost of raising a child in Britain has surpassed 200,000 pounds ($308,225) for the first time, an annual survey has found, with state education and childcare posing the biggest headaches.

Figures published by insurance group LV= reveal the average parent is likely to have shelled out 201,809 pounds per child by the time it reaches the age of 21.

That's an increase of 4 percent over the past year and 43 percent since the survey was launched in 2003.

The rise in costs comes despite three in four struggling parents (77 percent) reporting they had cut back on spending because of the recession.

The first year of a child's life drained the family purse by 9,152 pounds alone, the report said. Childcare, nursery fees, after-school and holiday clubs accounted for the biggest slice of the overall total, coming in at 54,696 pounds.

Education-related costs were the next biggest drain at 52,881 pounds. The survey did not include private education.

The research found the costs peak during the university years (age 18-21), following the introduction of tuition fees, when parents typically fork out 13,677 pounds a year.

"For the first time since this report began, the cost of raising just one child has topped 200,000 pounds," said LV= group chief executive Mike Rogers.

"Every parent will know how expensive it can be to raise a little one and, as parents, we know we don't begrudge a single penny of it. But I suspect many new and prospective mums and dads will be a little shocked to see the potential financial burden ahead of them." The study, carried out by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, using a sample of 3,950 adults, found costs for raising a child were highest in outer London at 220,796 pounds. Yorkshire and Humberside, at 177,706 pounds, came in at the cheapest. -Reuters